When you drive along
Douglas Lake road through the rolling hills in the
southern interior of British Columbia toward
“Twigg’s Place” you are probably
expecting to see some whitetail and mule deer; black bears for sure.
But pheasants? Yet when you arrive at the lodge you realize that this
is perfect pheasant country and if you’re arriving just at
daybreak, you might even be greeted by the cackle of pheasant roosters
scurrying through the lush brush in the river bottom.

Linda Cline who operates “Someday Retrievers”, a
topnotch dog training and boarding facility near Kamloops, also runs
this excellent pheasant hunting outfit on the properties of Douglas
Lake ranch, one of Canada’s largest working ranches. Nestled
amongst the trees on the shores of Salmon Lake is Twigg’s
Place. This lovingly restored historic property was the lakefront
summer home of Mrs. Twigg White and her family for some 40 plus years.

The lovingly restored historic main lodge “Twigs
Place” provides guests with all the luxury and comfort they
can hope to expect. The large rustic 900 square feet living room,
featuring a vaulted high ceiling and large stone fireplace with a large
door leading onto a large screened patio with lake view, is inviting
and makes you feel immediately at home. Upstairs are four bedrooms with
en-suite bathrooms and next to the living room is a large kitchen where
gourmet meals fit for a king are prepared.

Hunting is excellent providing lots of peasant and partridge shooting
opportunities in some of the most stunning countryside your eyes ever
will see. Weather permitting a delicious field lunch will be served out
in the hunting area between morning and afternoon hunts. You can bring
your own dog, which will be housed in the first class dog kennel
adjacent to the main lodge. For those hunters that do not own an
upland-bird hunting dog you don’t have to miss out on the fun
as the lodge will provide one with its own handler. These are some of
the best trained and eager hunting dogs I have ever seen. And if, after
a long day of hunting pheasants and partridges is not enough, there is
the opportunity to wet a line in the trout-rich Salmon Lake and catch
your own dinner.

The package rate includes: Accommodations, meals and beverages
(non-alcoholic), trap clays for the shooting range, professional dog
trainer on hand should you require some dog handling lessons. Each week
over 200 pheasants are released on the property, providing lots of
shooting opportunities. There are no bag limits on how many pheasants
and chukars you can shoot. All you need is a hunting license, and
angling license should you desire to wet a line in in the lakes ,
Hunting and angling licenses are available at the Douglas Lake Ranch
office or in one of the outdoor sporting stores in the nearby city of
Merritt.

When I moved from Illinois to British Columbia the thing I missed most
was pheasant hunting. When I found out about Someday Retrievers and
their pheasant hunting outfit at Douglas Lake Ranch I had to give it a
try. The warm welcome, excellent and friendly service, the numbers and
quality of birds in addition to the beautiful countryside and the
knowledgeable dog handlers made this an incredibly satisfying and
enjoyable all around experience and I look forward to a return visit in
the very near future.

The rolling hills in
the southern interior of British Columbia are great pheasant habitat.

The main lodge at the
shores of Salmon Lake.

Lots of action and
shooting opportunities.

Guides and their dogs
work hard to provide shooting opportunities for the clients.

The smile on this clients face says it all.

Someday Retrievers dogs show off what they have learned and are eager
to please.

Guides, dogs and clients show off a morning bag limit. After a hefty
field lunch its back to hunting more pheasants and chukars.